AKEMI is a comfortable and reliable Japanese restaurant on Solano Avenue, with a nice modern dining room and a broad menu covering sushi, rolls, tempura, grilled dishes and other Japanese standards. We tried several different items, and overall everything was well prepared. The sushi was fresh and nicely presented, with generous pieces of fish. The steak was properly grilled and paired surprisingly well with the tempura. The tempura itself came out light and crisp, without feeling excessively oily. The agedashi tofu was another simple but satisfying dish -- crisp outside, soft inside, with bonito flakes, green onion and the familiar savory broth. Even the miso soup deserves a mention. Nothing complicated, just a warm, properly balanced bowl of miso soup that did exactly what it was supposed to do. That probably describes AKEMI pretty well. There was no single dish that completely changed my understanding of Japanese cuisine, but there also wasn't anything on the table I regretted ordering. Everything was fresh, competent and enjoyable. Berkeley can sometimes be surprisingly difficult when you're simply looking for a dependable meal, and AKEMI fills that role nicely. I probably wouldn't make a special trip across the Bay just for dinner here, but if I'm in Berkeley and want good sushi, tempura or Japanese food around Solano Avenue, I would have no problem coming back. Four stars. Solid, comfortable, and reliably good. -- Dr. C Independent Culinary Quality Control Raw Material Inspection: PASS Thermal Processing: PASS Tempura Integrity: PASS Miso Soup Performance: ABOVE EXPECTATION Overall System Status: STABLE & WITHIN SPECIFICATION read more

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$6 Strawberry Yuzu Spritzer: delicious and apparently uses real puréed strawberries. $24 Gyu Bento: the white miso soup was perfectly fine. Perfectly cooked steak. The roasted Brussels sprouts was a nice pairing. The shredded salad was good, crunchy. The orange wedges were sweetly in season. Really felt the bento needed one more thing. $9 Hamachi Nigiri: buttery! Excellent. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Strawberry Yuzu Spritzer, miso shiro soup - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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The positives - good food. The negatives - terrible terrible service. We came in there ad hoc to celebrate our anniversary. The waitresses literally treated us like some kind of annoyance. Rushing our food. Taking plates away before we were done. My wife literally grabbed her miso soup back as she was still working on it. Then someone threw the check in front of my kid's face. Perhaps, so they wouldn't have to go around the table? It is like they all had knives on their throats. The place was maybe 80% full and there was no line of new guests so I don't know where that rush was coming from. Only the hostess was nice and welcoming. I truly don't write negative reviews unless I have to... ‍ read more

Wonderful restaurant with high quality food, calming atmosphere, and attentive wait staff. I've been here on numerous occasions and can't recommend their sushi rolls enough. The ingredients (most importantly the fish) are always fresh, and the rolls are prepared with great attention to detail. I love their rendition of the lion king roll, it isn't too mayonnaise heavy and the scorched top adds a wonderful char flavor. This most recent trip I tried the Akemi roll for the first time, which uses a cucumber wrap instead of rice. It was difficult to eat because the cucumber doesn't stick to the fish the way rice does, and it's too big to eat in one bite, but the flavors were so refreshing and I would absolutely recommend this for something different. I also want to shout out the baked scallop roll, the shrimp tempura inside was still crispy when served to us, which I rarely see done well at other sushi restaurants. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the rolls at Akemi. I've had their tonkotsu ramen twice: the first time it was perfect with a rich, flavorful broth, bouncy noodles, and a jammy egg. The second time the egg was overcooked. If you are looking for quality Japanese food I cannot recommend Akemi enough! read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Top to bottom: baked scallop roll, lion king roll, double hamachi roll, salmon & avocado roll - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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One of my favorite places in Berkeley--been going here for the last 4 years, and the quality of fish has never let me down! My go-to roll is the truffle toro (although I'm not too sure of the official name) and the negihama (yellowtail roll)! The rice is always perfectly cooked, and the fish is top tier! The ambiance is very moody, so it's perfect for a date night, although I love stopping by casually for a quick bite. Service is always welcoming and I've been a regular for the longest time! Beautiful decor and amazing bites! read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Upscale Japanese restaurant in North Berkeley. They have Okonomiyaki here but not quite what I used to get at this restaurant in Japantown that closed a few years ago. It would also be nice to expand on the protein offerings as well. I ordered beef teriyaki plate which I asked staff to make sure it was medium well but what I got was a pretty bloody medium. Although we got seated pretty quickly, the staff never really checked up on us much. Not really worth the price for an upscale restaurant they serves mediocre Japanese cuisine. 2.5 stars for me. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Okonomiyaki - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I really enjoyed the atmosphere this restaurant provided. I was quite impressed with the sleek interior, the wood tables, and the lighting. The restaurant felt very ambient, even at noon. While there were only two tables at lunch, the service was quite slow. My friend and I waited quite a while for the Bento box and a couple rolls. The red dragon roll was fantastic, I enjoyed the quality of the tuna and the spice. I also ordered the 49er roll and I was very pleased to find the crab was not imitation crab. I tasted some of the wagyu beef my friend got in her bento and it was so tender and flavorful. I'm quite surprised at the generous portions of tempura, beef, and salad the bento had. I think it was well worth. read more

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The sushi here is fresh and delicious! The service here is top notch and very clean. Their Lion King is out of this world! I live in Walnut Creek and I love coming here to watch. Trust me It's worth the drive! read more

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Cute and cozy Japanese spot. Very welcoming Services was attentive and very sweet. Rolls were delicious. Standout for me was the toro toro roll. Literally melted in my mouth. Fish was fresh. Rolls were a delight to the eye and tastebuds. read more

I really enjoyed eating at akemi. The staff was very nice and attentive, the service was very fast, and the food was delicious. The only thing that keeps me from giving 5 starts is that the restaurant was very noisy for some reason, and they had forgot to bring part of my order. I would definitely go back. Very nice place. read more

This is an upscale restaurant with Omakase options. The service was very good. The food was even better. I can't put my finger on it, but it's probably not a place I would go back to again for awhile. I prefer sushi places to be more homey and traditional. This area of Berkeley has a lot of food choices. In fact, there is a really good sushi place (I won't tell you the name of it out of respect for Akemi) just down the street from them and I liked that place quite a bit. With the Omakase special we were able to try three fishes we'd never heard of before. We couldn't even find them on Wikipedia haha! But they were good and they were well-prepared. (No idea what the mercury content was, if any.) If you're watching your budget, this is not the place to go. This is a place for a special occasion. Nothing wrong with that and if you do have the budget go for it. One last thing I would say to the restaurant is that the bathrooms are very black and dark and the lights they have in their shine right in your face so it feels like you're gonna be ambushed any minute. You're in there. I've never been in such a dark restroom before! Not sure what that's all about. read more

I was disappointed to see all our take out containers were marked as "6," which means polystyere, an unrecyclable material, same as styrofoam. These do not break down for decades and when they do, they break down to more toxic mateirals for our future generations to address toxins going into the ground water and to decomtaiminate our soils from these cheapest containers of convenience. Akemi needs to become more responsible and abide by the legal requirements to not use polystyrene take out containers in their restaurant. I will change my ratintg once ai see compliance with the local laws. But regardless, it shows lack of integrity by the owner when responsibility for the community welfare is not prioritized. The staff seem hard working and thoughtful. This rating would have been lower if not for their service efforts. The restaurant is way understaffed with only 2 waitresses for over 20 tables. We came on a Sunday 5PM and by 6PM, they were overwhelmed. read more

We loved our experience here! Sushi and food was really good. Can be pricey but a nice meal to eat out. One of the best rolls we have had in Berkeley. Service was nice and the restaurant atmosphere was also very cozy. read more

Anyone say sushi? I can tell you I've had Akemi on my list for years! Located off Solano Ave in Albany/Berkeley. Sometimes it's hard to find good quality sushi and Akemi filled my needs. Agadashi Roasted squid Spicy edamame Chirashi bowl Ebi Toro roll Full and satisfied They also have Omakase for 100.00 Winning read more

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This was a good choice for lunch. We shared a few sushi rolls in a nice and relaxing atmosphere with friendly service. We had the Crunchy Tuna Roll, Rainbow Roll, and the Giant's Roll. We appreciated that not a lot of sauce was used. Sometimes, the sauce can be too much and no other flavors come through. The fish was tender and its flavor subtle. read more

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Went here to celebrate a friends birthday, I had never been in this area of Berkeley but it is located in a very cute spot. The restaurant is very lowkey and the restaurant provides a good atmosphere that welcome people. The food was delicious and everything tasted fresh and had good portions! I recommend adding the strawberry yuzu spritzer! Really good! My friends tried the lobster ramen and it was a really good size of lobster that came with the food and the broth had a lot of great flavors. Overall nice spot and I am happy to have discovered this new area. read more

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3.5 Stars. Nothing really stood out for us. Sushi flavor and ingredient quality was there, albeit at the expense of sushi size. Ramen was good. Overall decor was quite nice read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Menu (2/2) as of 1/19/25 - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I booked the reservation on the past Sunday at 6 pm, via Open Table. When I called to make the appointment last Saturday, the receptionist was unable to take my reservation because it was very busy at the restaurant, she told me to make the appointment online or call an hour later. I had to read through the website to find it on the "About" section mentioned about make the reservartion via Open Table. I wish the OpenTable link could add to the front page of the website to make it easier for booking. Nice ambiance, like the salvaged wood for the tables and seats at the reception and bar are. We sat near the kitchen and facing the long sushi bar. There were a fruit fly over our table before our dinner, glad it was gone when the food served. The sake samplers were best for those who like to try different sake but don't have to order the whole bottle. My husband and I shared the Akemi sampler, it was only $18 for three kinds of sake. We shared the following food from the menu: Chicken Karaage, California rolls with real crab meat, sushi nigiri of Uni ($23), Hamachi yellow tail, Blue Fin Toro fatty tuna, Tai red snapper. Tonkotsu combo with mixed Tempura, Ikayaki grilled whole squid. I would stick to the sushi, good quality fish was fresh and delicious, good thickness of the fish slices, the sushi rice could be better because it was a bit mushy. The combo was a good value. The grilled whole squid was a disappointment, it was skinny and did not look and tasted like grilled (please refer to the grilled Hokkaido squid at Ippuku, I could encore on it). No complaint on the service, it was decent overall. read more

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What a nice change of pace for Japanese restaurant that I hadn't been to before. We were greeted at the door by Tina, who has this very outgoing and nurturing personality. She immediately directed us to a table of our choice because we came in early and we're wondering why the place wasn't full of people after good reviews. Later I found out why. The place wasn't full because they had just opened and by the time we left, it was full on a Tuesday night night. Looking around as we walked in, I noticed that the place was elegant and understated, which is a blessing because sometimes you go to specialty restaurants, and they have just too much clutter on the walls in the cupboards, then in the niches. It's well lighted big windows, but because of all the dark wood you get this feeling that is sort of a romantic atmosphere, everyone was smiling the staff and the chef all greeted us when we walked in and the great customer service continued throughout the meal. We got a great window seat. So it was fun to watch the activity out on Solano Avenue while we were waiting for our food. Tina suggested some great things to try that were specials on the menu and they were very very tasty. So I would recommend when you go in. Ask if the chef has a special for the evening or if there's a special dinner plate for the evening. We were very pleased with everything that showed up at our table . Looking back at what I had for dinner tonight. I was very pleased to try a pork belly tonkatsu Ramen, which was delicious. I was very surprised that it had the white sauce. I should say white broth, and it was a nice change of pace for me. We also had the chef prepare a six piece special sushi for a plate just to have a little taste of something special. One was Uni, When was exquisite octopus that had been marinated, and then slightly roasted, and the last item was this wonderful Sushi made from a delicate white fish. Our entrées were the pork belly, Tonkatsu Ramen. I also made sure on a cool evening like tonight that I had some hot sake with it. Though hot sake is more of an American tradition. It was sort of fun to have it on a cold everything we ate and wonderful flavors. Everything looked very, very fresh. It was very clean in the restaurant, and it would be fine to have this experience shared with friends again on another occasion. They will see us soon. read more

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Service is great quick and the food quality is amazing, clean and organized. The place is well kept and aesthetically pleasing. Staff was very friendly! read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Been here a few times for date nights and they never disappoint. This js probably my favorite spot for spinach gomae

Akemi serves delicious okomiyaki at night. Everything is great but it's hard to find okonomiyaki in many Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area.....what a shame. read more

Great food. One of the best Japanese food in California. Awesome ambiance. Very clean and beautiful restaurant. Excellent service by the staff. Five stars !!! read more

This place has the best sushi I know of in the Bay Area. Its always melt in the mouth delicious, and the environment is pretty great too. Not cheap but I come here for a treat every now again. read more

The ambiance of this restaurant is intimate and romantic. It also looks very modern and clean. Service was about average as my group had to flag down the waitresses a few times to get their attention. I heard the sushi chef squeeze behind the counter, but he did not wash his hands after. I thought the sushi was prepared well, but I did not like the teriyaki chicken and mixed tempura that came with my combination plate. The tempura was not crispy and had too much batter. The chicken tasted boiled, rather than grilled. read more

I really love their food, and it's not too noisy there. The prices are okay, but the sushi is really good, makes you want to buy more!

My favorite local sushi spot. Great food, generous treats for regular customers, friendly service. read more

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Meh to poor food in a sealed off atmosphere with indifferent service. The extremely high quality of places blocks away makes patronage of this place look like it depends on walkability to the wealthy homeowners further north who can't make it as far as Solano and San Pablo. read more

Lovely staff and delicious sushi! The mekabetsu is also delightful. My friend left his sunglasses on the table and the waitress ran outside and chased us down to block to return them. Truly above and beyond! read more

Great food. Great service. Interesting they have both sushi and ramens; I don't see that often. Chicken karagi appetizer was one of the best I've had. Seasoned batter was delicious. Hamachi salad wasn't really a salad but the hamachi was good. 49'er roll was excellent! Highly recommend this. And the side ginger was sweeter than the usual 'spicy' ginger I'm used to. Combo plates are expensive but they are quite large. Tempura perfectly crispy. Teriyaki chicken was a bit dry. Tonkatsu ramen had very nice milky broth. Big chunks of cha shu. Nice and soft noodles. read more

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Food is excellent. Fish was fresh and rolls were well made. However, they need to work on their service...

Great atmosphere, delicious food, and friendly service! I came here on Tuesday night with a party of 8 and they were so accommodating. Our party was supposed to arrive at 6:30pm but ended up being late so we called and they accommodated our 7:15pm arrival time. This restaurant is very nice, clean and has a great atmosphere. Would honestly make a perfect date spot since it's located in a cute area with lots of parking and shops. Since we are dining in the Covid area, they did require proof of Vaccine to be seated and we did wear a mask until the food was served. The food was fresh and delicious. We had the chicken karaage, edamame, seaweed salads, and I had the chirashi. Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner here and were happy that they could accommodate our larger party for dining. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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11/26 Came back with friends to show off the sushi here, but it was a letdown. The nigiri was huge, but the rice was tough and lacked the light, delicate texture you expect from good sushi. Honestly, it felt like it was trying to impress by size rather than quality. On top of that, I didn't see the chef who made my food this time. kind of felt like the attention to detail was missing. The overall experience just didn't live up to the hype. Not the spot I thought it was. read more

I have loved coming here over the past few years. I have had great service, and enjoyed the ambiance. This has been a great local place for me, and have brought lots of my friends here. They have everything from sushi to ramen to combo plates, easy for anyone to choose something! My favorite item on the menu is the steak combo (teishoku). Tonight I went and the wagyu was overdone (after being told at order time that it would be medium rare) and the waitress kindly took it back and reordered it for us. While it came back more pink this time, the steak wasn't neatly cut and had no kind of char on the outside like I used to see for the grilled steak here. I know this is more of a sushi than a combo-plate place. Just want to say thanks for the former fond memories of this dish. Matta ne! read more

We ordered the garlic edamame, Akemi roll, rock and roll and evil roll. The Akemi roll was very disappointing, the menu didn't state it wasn't a regular sushi roll wrapped with rice. So we were surprised to see it arrive rolled with just cucumber- this should have been included in the description of the roll. Fist time seeing sushi wrapped with cucumber, and it was so hard to eat, fell apart before we could even take a proper bite. The garlic edamame was our favorite, delicious garlic seasoning that we couldn't get enough of! The rock and roll wasn't as good, didn't taste fresh or flavorful. I most likely wouldn't have sushi here again, but I might come back for the edamame. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Inside - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Pretty good lunch offering at Akemi, decent seating inside. Parking around the around the area is relatively convenient. Ordered the Chirashi Don, which as you all know, is sashimi on rice bowl. Menu below for your reference SUSHI COMBINATIONS Regular 5 pc chef's choice nigiri, Godzilla roll 27 deluxe 8 pc chef's choice nigiri, tekka maki 33 Veggie 5 pc veggie nigiri, mixed veggie roll, avocado roll 26 tekka don 8 pc bluefin tuna sashimi over sushi rice 34 unagi don 8 pc bbq eel over steamed rice 29 chirashi 8 pc chef's choice sashimi over sushi rice 32 So, chirashi 8 pc chefs choice sounds kind of good right? In the end received 4 types of sashimi, 2 pieces of each, had tuna, salmon, hamachi, and one other forget-able sashimi which was pretty disappointing. Good environment, and they didn't lie about 8 pieces of sashimi, but the choice and the doubling of each 'choice' was pretty weak for me, especially at $32 on the menu. Would've preferred more variety on the Chirashi don Might be better if i ordered the tempura bento $19 because it looked super good (a buddy ordered this) and full of tasty fried tempura. read more

The experience overall was good but food quality was inconsistent. We reserved a table through OpenTable for a Saturday at noon. There was plenty of seating and we picked a table with ample sunlight inside after showing proof of vaccination. The baked scallops roll came first and was amazing! So creamy and delicious with a great balance of crunch from tht roll. Next, the 10 piece chef's choice sashimi and unagi don arrived. The sashimi was disappointing. The fish didn't feel the best and left a poor aftertaste. It was the opposite of melt in your mouth goodness that left us wanting more. The unagi don was really good. The unagi really carried the dish. The rice was just rice and it came with some steamed broccoli. I've had more compelling unagi dons elsewhere that include other toppings to compliment the unagi. I still loved the soft, warm and delicious unagi pieces. I didn't feel the unagi was well supported by the rest of the dish. Service was courteous and attentive. The feel in the restaurant was nice, quiet and relaxing. I would come back to try other items but sadly will pass on the sashimi. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - Unagi don and 10 piece chef's choice sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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We haven't been here for a while. The sushi here has always been very fresh but the prices are a bit on the steeper side. Dinner was about $100 for two tonight with no alcoholic drinks (we had water). The broth for the ramen was good and rich but lacked salt. Previously when I had it was too salty. There was a sign at the entrance of the restaurant saying proof of vaccination is required but we were not checked and was allowed to dine-in. read more

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This place was so good! Not pictured; We also had the karaage, agedashi tofu & gyoza. Everything was delicious and the portions were great. We felt the prices were reasonable. I loved the cucumber salad. This was a random pick for me but I would definitely get again. The sesame dressing was great. We were seated in a side room and it was perfect. Not too noisy even though it was full. Food was brought to table quickly. Waiters were friendly. Overall I would definitely come back & recommend. read more

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Dined here twice this week. Both times I ordered the chef's choice sashimi. Both times were delicious. Both times, the star of the plate was the toro! The salmon was mediocre on day 1, but day 2 the salmon was tastier. The seared fish was also smoky and tasty. I highly recommend the 30 piece sashimi over the 20 piece. There was just so much to try. Service was great both days. Our server was fabulous. We had kids in our party both times.. a 5 year old on day one and the 12 year old on day 2. The 5 y.o. requested orange juice, but mom said sprite was ok. The 5 y.o. insisted on a BIG glass of sprite. The server brought out a glass with sprite and ice. She brought the rest of the can out too, which we hid from the kid behind a drink menu. That was phenomenal and appreciated. OMG sugar is so addictive. They also were able to provide tamari for my friend with celiacs and our server double checked that each item was gluten free. I liked the warm kale (which is a soup, not a salad). It tastes like miso with kale and garlic. This has gluten, but I has it all to myself. So comforting! The unagi was incredibly tender. There's only 1 snag. The sushi rice doesn't have much flavor. I think a little more vinegar is in order. Since that's a personal preference, I think they still deserve 5 stars because of the wonderful service. read more

AKEMI Japanese Restaurant - 30 piece sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California